Back to top

Image: Bigstock

MFA Financial (MFA) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

MFA Financial (MFA - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $2.50, moving +0.4% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.5%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.3%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.95%.

Coming into today, shares of the real estate investment trust had gained 35.33% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector gained 1.67%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.89%.

MFA will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, MFA is projected to report earnings of $0.40 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 100%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $41.20 million, down 31.21% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of -$1.55 per share and revenue of $158.60 million, which would represent changes of -301.3% and -36.4%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MFA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 140.79% lower. MFA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

The REIT and Equity Trust industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 162, putting it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


MFA Financial, Inc. (MFA) - free report >>

Published in